Nováková Lucie, Lázaro Javier, Muturi Marion, Dullin Christian, Dechmann Dina K N
Department of Migration, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Am Obstberg 1, Radolfzell 78315, Germany.
Department of Zoology, Charles University, Viničná 7, Prague 128 00, Czech Republic.
R Soc Open Sci. 2022 Sep 7;9(9):220652. doi: 10.1098/rsos.220652. eCollection 2022 Sep.
Seasonal changes in the environment can lead to astonishing adaptations. A few small mammals with exceptionally high metabolisms have evolved a particularly extreme strategy: they shrink before winter and regrow in spring, including changes of greater than 20% in skull and brain size. Whether this process is an adaptation to seasonal climates, resource availability or both remains unclear. We show that European moles () also decrease skull size in winter. As resources for closely related Iberian moles () are lowest in summer, we predicted they should shift the timing of size changes. Instead, they do not change size at all. We conclude that in moles, seasonal decrease and regrowth of skull size is an adaptation to winter climate and not to a changing resource landscape alone. We not only describe this phenomenon in yet another taxon, but take an important step towards a better understanding of this enigmatic cycle.
环境中的季节性变化会导致惊人的适应性变化。一些新陈代谢特别高的小型哺乳动物进化出了一种特别极端的策略：它们在冬季来临前会缩小体型，并在春季重新生长，头骨和大脑大小的变化超过20%。这个过程究竟是对季节性气候的适应、资源可用性的适应，还是两者兼而有之，目前尚不清楚。我们发现欧洲鼹鼠在冬季也会减小头骨尺寸。由于与其亲缘关系较近的伊比利亚鼹鼠的资源在夏季最为匮乏，我们预测它们应该会改变体型变化的时间。然而，它们的体型根本没有变化。我们得出结论，对于鼹鼠来说，头骨尺寸的季节性减小和重新生长是对冬季气候的适应，而不仅仅是对不断变化的资源环境的适应。我们不仅在另一个分类群中描述了这一现象，还朝着更好地理解这个神秘循环迈出了重要一步。
